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How to Use LinkedIn for Business and Marketing

LinkedIn has revolutionized social networks by creating a professional-social platform that allows users to connect with other professionals in their field and beyond. Currently, LinkedIn has over 200 million users and every second that number grows by two more memberships. While many users utilize the platform by searching or recruiting for a new job, many are also businesses pursuing new leads or promoting their goods and services.

Does your business have a company page on LinkedIn?

No?Well, it should. We’ll convince you of that.

Yes?Let us help you make the most out of your profile.

In today's post we will teach you how to use LinkedIn for business and marketing by leveraging different aspects of the platform.

Create a Company Page

LinkedIn provides a number of opportunities for your business and marketing. First you have to create a company page for your business. When doing this be sure to complete your company profile as thoroughly and concisely as possible. Include a company description and overview: what you do, your specialties and what makes your business unique.When creating your profile keep in mind that you want people to be able to find you or the services you provide therefore optimize your profile by including keywords.

Also include your company’s logo and banner image to give your page personality.You love your business; this is your opportunity to make others love it too! Want more help with creating your page? LinkedIn provides a short guide to launching your new company page.

Increase Followers

Next you need followers. Start with your current employees by encouraging them to add your company to their personal profiles. By doing this, they automatically become followers and can help expand your viral reach.

You can also leverage your profile through your current marketing channels such as email, blogs and websites. LinkedIn provides an easy “Follow” button download that you can add to your website in order to gain more followers. Have extra marketing funds? LinkedIn also provides the option of highly targeted Follow Ads which can attract the audience you are trying to reach.

Create Remarkable Content

Now that you have a company page and you’ve begun to attract followers, you can delve further into LinkedIn by becoming active members of the professional community. When you become more active, you can generate more leads, recruit new talent, solidify your brand and promote your services and/or products.

Keep in mind: You need to constantly update your company page. It is also useful to use the products and services spotlight and solicit recommendations for your products from current or past customers.

But how? First, your company needs to be sharing rich content daily. By posting company news, industry articles and asking followers to weigh in on topics, your posts will appear on your company page along with the newsfeeds of those who follow you. As with any social platform, be sure to include images, infographics, videos and SlideShare presentations to keep content exciting to your community.

Explore LinkedIn Groups

With groups, you’re able to join professional conversations with like-minded individuals in your field as well as potential customers. Groups are another opportunity to share your rich content and add insights, allowing you to position your company as a thought leader. The most significant advantage of your company joining LinkedIn groups is the access to a new audience of professionals who are interested in what your company offers.

When interacting on LinkedIn groups, it's important to keep in mind that you can only join as an individual an not through your actual company page. For this reason, we suggest that you pick 2 - 3 individuals within your organization who can represent your voice and share your content. Those individuals will be how you can connect with your prospects and continue to promote your brand at the same time, hopefully driving more traffic to your company page and helping you get more followers. According to LinkedIn, 50% of company followers say they’re more likely to purchase products and services from the companies they follow on LinkedIn.

Analyze Your Efforts

LinkedIn also provides tools for company pages that make growth easier. First, LinkedIn provides built-in analytics so you can track engagement, follower growth and key metrics and trends. This data is best used to optimize and refine your content in order to increase engagement. LinkedIn provides an excellent demo video on getting started with analytics. Secondly, if you have wiggle room in your marketing and advertising budget, utilizing LinkedIn’s Sponsored Updates can help get your message out to the right people by raising brand awareness and generating quality leads. To learn more, click here.

LinkedIn provides many tools and opportunities for your business through their company pages. If you have any questions about how to utilize LinkedIn for your business or would like further explanation on anything mentioned in this post, just leave a comment below! We'd be happy to help!

About The Author

Olivia is an Inbound Marketing Strategist with a focus on lead generation and marketing + sales alignment. She's a rockstar at helping our customers build their HubSpot database and marketing processes while coming up with fresh ideas to generate qualified site traffic and leads. Her main goal is to help both customers and New Breed reach their marketing and revenue goals.